Hello, fellow Hivians! Happy Humpday!
Recently, we had the opportunity of exploring La Union, the Philippines surfing capital of the North. We also visit Bahay na Bato, also known as Stone House, as part of our agenda. I was expecting an old, concrete, abandoned house when the tour guide mentioned the site, but what we came across was far more interesting.
The main entrance leading to the stone house.
Numerous stone carvings of all sizes are on show at the gallery's entrance. Most pieces in the gallery are made by stone and wood sculptor from Korea. You'll enjoy it if you're a fan of this kind of artwork.
After passing the entrance arch, a walkway built of pebbles and stones leads to the main house. There are numerous stone and wood crafts with exquisite designs, including animal figures and many more. Along the path, there were a lot of Instagram-worthy locations, but the heat from the sun was radiating off the stones and pebbles, making it feel more like being stone-grilled.
This tarantula design caught my attention and made me realize that every circle spot where we are walking has a unique design on it. The intense heat made it difficult for me to observe until my son exclaimed, "Mom, there's a big spider in the ground." We then started hunting for the best pattern in the walkway.
Look how crisp my shadow is against the heat of the sun. I hope this gives you an idea how hot it was that day.
This butterfly with a little flower is my favorite among all patterns; it's like a big puzzle put together. Look at the details of the wing—isn't it beautiful?
We came upon this huge photo frame built of wood and logs, with a flower arrangement on the side, as we continued on our journey. My boys walked into the frame and started posing right away.
A family statue with a great quotation on the side
I have no idea what material it is made of, but they all look happy, right? 😆
These photos I captured are not even half of all the interesting pieces you can see inside the gallery, and we are not even in the main house yet. I just captured what I could and ran for a cover.
Finally! We reached our destination!
Let me first show you the house's stunning outside features before we look inside. Colored stone from the beach covers the building's whole exterior. Up close, the stones' colors are distinctive and vivid.
There are so many lovely artworks inside the house, but because there are so many tourists resting there, it's incredibly difficult to find a place to shoot a picture without getting someone else's face in the the background.
The first floor of the house serves mainly as a lobby or reception area.
This is the stairs going to the second floor.
This owl is a beautiful masterpiece and became my instant favorite.
There are two bedrooms on the first floor, each with an open window with a view of the sea.
We were able to take a look at one bedroom, and my son checked the bed to see if it was also made of stone; luckily, it was not!
Bedroom window.
View from the window.
Let's go to the second floor and check it out!
Going up!
The majority of what is seen on the upper floor is various kinds of lanterns and wooden carved seats.
The balcony on the second floor.
Since the majority of the tourists are downstairs and we have the upper level to ourselves, we lingered for a bit to cool off and just enjoy the sights.
We took a few family photos before heading down and going back to our service vehicle.
Going back to the entrance and looking for refreshments, I found this cute biker structure.
Yes, there's a store selling refreshments and snacks just before the entrance. Their halo-halo is good; I tried it.
If you're interested in visiting, here is the gallery schedule. If you want to enjoy sight-seeing at the gallery without sweltering, I highly recommend going in the early morning or late afternoon rather than at the peak time of noon.
We still have a few more sites to visit in La Union; come with me to the next location!
I appreciate you taking the time to read this far, and I'll see you on my next one.
❤️❤️❤️
All photos were taken by me, unless stated otherwise.